


the courage of stars

by persephonie



Series: Ever After High: The End [4]
Category: Ever After High
Genre: Character Study, Coda, Established Relationship, Existential Crisis, F/M, Light Angst, Loss of Identity, Post-TV Special: Epic Winter (Ever After High), Self Confidence Issues, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27049663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephonie/pseuds/persephonie
Summary: For the first time in his life, Daring Charming learns that perhaps the role he plays in his own destiny must be earned.
Relationships: Daring Charming & Darling Charming, Daring Charming & Dexter Charming, Darling Charming & Dexter Charming, Rosabella Beauty/Daring Charming
Series: Ever After High: The End [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925164
Comments: 6
Kudos: 56





	the courage of stars

**Author's Note:**

> Set post-Epic Winter.

The Day After, Daring Charming found, was much worse than The Day Of. After Apple White had woken from the curse—

No, that’s not right. After Daring had _failed_ to wake Apple from the curse, and the hopeful eyes around him turned doubtful, and his face burned scarlet with shame, he’d fled the Enchanted Forest like… well, like a coward. He ran straight for Ever After High, never turning back, not even once, and was only able to breathe as soon as he had reached the school grounds where he recognised at least some part of him existed.

There in the forest, his name, his very being, and all that he believed himself to be vanished along with Apple. (He’d learned a little later that she had indeed woken up, though the thought of _how_ it happened nearly made him sick with disbelief.)

In the beginning he was angry. He couldn’t look his sister in the eye, not because there was particularly anything wrong with what she’d done, but because he believed it was _her_ fault that he'd lost his identity.

“You stole my Happily Ever After,” he’d told her, _whined_ almost, like a child.

“Get a grip, Daring,” Darling had replied, scowling, “I didn’t _steal_ anything! Apple needed help, and I gave it. That’s all there is to it. And she still thought it was _you_ after, didn’t she?”

She’d spat that last remark so bitterly, though Daring hadn’t understood the weight her words carried. Not then.

When the next stage of his grief—his loss of self—hit, Daring had wandered through the school like a ghost, not quite sure what to do with himself now that he wasn’t what he thought he was. Ever since he was born, he’d been told one thing: that he was meant for greatness, that his destiny would bring him light.

In the darkness of the Mirror Realm, where he had been trapped for what felt like an eternity, he’d learned that greatness counted for nothing if it meant he was alone. Nobody had looked for him then; not Apple, who had been otherwise indisposed, and neither his siblings, nor his friends.

And Grimm knows he _really_ needed a friend at the time.

Enter Rosabella Beauty, whom he had only known previously—regretfully—as Briar Beauty’s bookworm cousin, spending most of her time with her nose buried in one classic after the next. He remembers noticing a sliver of auburn hair, hidden behind a gigantic copy of _Finnegans Wake_ in Ever After High’s expansive library, curiosity almost begging him to ask what it is that can be so engrossing in a 700-page book about… well, essentially nothing.

Now after everything—after the Mirror Realm, and struggling with his sense of self, and learning to accept his destiny—Rosabella carries a deep enough presence in his life that Daring can’t remember a time before, as if he’s finally received his hero’s reward after enduring his battle with his identity loss.

Not that Rosabella is a prize to be won, nor should she be treated as such. Being with Rosabella is different than what he’d had with Apple, where everything felt like a routine. An act, Daring realises now, to prepare for what he’d thought was his future. Now that _that’s_ gone, he can start from scratch.

But being with Rosabella is also not without effort, and he learns this the first week they’re back at school after the summer-winter ends.

* * *

The news of their recently developed relationship travels fast, and it reaches Blondie Lockes’ MirrorCast network on the very first Tuesday of the fall. Blondie catches the pair emerging from their joint Kingdom Management class, hands clasped together, and the both of them simply drinking in each other’s company. She thinks this is the perfect time to corner them with hard-hitting questions.

“So, it’s true!” Blondie extends an eager hand, almost shoving her mic completely in Daring’s face. “Daring Charming _is_ set to be the next Beast indeed. You heard it here first!”

“Well, y—yes,” Daring stumbles, caught off guard by the camera and mic, the sudden call to fame, something he hadn’t experienced in a long time; not since Apple, and his beastly transformation, and learning to look within. “I—I suppose that’s true.”

He doesn’t notice Rosabella’s expression swiftly change from proud to disappointed. The look on his own face is visibly uncomfortable. His hand rushes to the back of his head, adjusting his crown that’s already perfectly positioned on his head.

“Then, you’ve accepted it. Bravo!” Blondie claps at the camera. “Your world came crashing down, and you persevered! I mean, even the rest of us didn’t know _what_ your identity would be, or whose Prince Charming you were, I can’t imagine what was going through your head. But this is great!”

“Y—yes,” he stammers again. His head is spinning, and he needs to get away _now_. “Uh, actually, Blondie, I need to—”

“Just a sec!” Blondie turns to address the camera. “So, is ‘Darabella’ the new ‘Dapple’? Looks like it is! Tune in for more Relationship RumorCast!”

“Dara—what?” Daring shakes his head. He feels faint, almost as if the walls around him are closing in, pushing against him. Before he realises what he’s doing, he bolts into the nearest vacant classroom, tugging Rosabella along.

He leans against the door and buries his face in his hands. The tightness of the Mirror Realm surrounds him at once, and he feels just as cold and lost and alone as he had been there, where he could see no one around him, not even himself. He lets the chilly feeling wash over him once before pulling himself back up. After all, he’s still Prince Charming, and this battle is just another dragon he must defeat. It’s nothing he can’t face.

When he’s finally able to breathe, he meets Rosabella’s eyes, which seem awfully distant. “Oh _Grimm_ , what a nightmare.”

“Nightmare?” Rosabella blinks.

“Rosabella,” he says, still feeling strangely rattled, “what’s wrong?”

“Daring, are you…” she eyes him skeptically, “… ashamed of your destiny?”

“What? No!” Daring exclaims. “Of course not!”

“Are you sure? Because I’d understand if you were. This is not an easy role to take on, so I get it if you want to skip out,” she says, though her wavering voice suggests otherwise, “and, I mean, it’s not like I’m your—your _girlfriend_ or anything.”

That stings. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you never really talked about it.” Rosabella’s voice is far away. “So, I didn’t know if—if you wanted…”

“I didn’t think I had to.” Daring shrugs. “We’re destined together, anyway.”

“Because you’ve _resigned_ to it.”

“Yes,” he begins, and then immediately, “wait, I mean, no!”

“No?”

“It’s just so overwhelming, all of this,” he says, closing his eyes, his voice thick with exasperation, “this _change_. I haven’t had time to process it myself. And now we’re back in school, I just think it’s all moving really fast—”

“Right,” Rosabella says sharply, turning her face away from Daring so he wouldn’t see the tears threatening to fall. She pushes her glasses up stiffly, feeling them slide down the bridge of her nose as soon as she does. “Right. Okay. I’ll just… let you process it then.”

“Thank you, I…” he trails off, noticing her expression. “Wait, Rosabella, what are you saying?”

“I’ll give you the space you need,” she says, forcing a smile in place and casting a quick glance to the floor, “to process this change yourself.”

And with that, she rushes out of the room, leaving Daring dumbfounded and empty, and alone.

* * *

“I don’t need _space_ ,” Daring grumbles. “She’s got it all wrong.”

It’s been two days since his disagreement with Rosabella—he refuses to call it an outright argument, or worse, as his roommate Hopper Croakington II refers to it, getting _Royally_ dumped—and he’s lying face down on his bed, his fair hair unkempt and the reek of the last Bookball practice sifting round him. The guys are all gathered in the room; Hopper, and the rest of the Bookball team: Hunter Huntsman, Sparrow Hood, and his brother Dexter, each of whom are minding their own business despite claiming to be there to cheer him up.

“Dude,” Sparrow half-sings, half-yells, “you’re totally killing my vibe!”

“I didn’t say _anything_ ,” Daring says, ignoring Sparrow’s deafening voice, “I don’t know why she thought I needed _space_.”

“Maybe it’s the fact that you _didn’t_ say anything that’s the problem,” Dexter finally chimes in, looking up from his MirrorPhone. He tries, and fails, to hide his smile from whomever he was hexting. (Daring can take a pretty wild guess.) “Maybe she took it a sign of hesitation.”

“Oh, so you’re the relationship expert now?” Daring glowers at his brother, who looks far too happy and relaxed, having comfortably settled in a relationship with his long-time crush Raven Queen, and Daring is—dare he say it— _jealous_ of his little brother. “Well, congratulations to you for having it easy.”

“It’s not as easy as you think,” Dexter replies, annoyed. Daring has always had a flair for the dramatic, something Dexter and Darling are grateful not to inherit. “Nothing ever comes _easy_. If you want easy, then you’re better off on your own. Like this guy here, see how easy he has it?”

They all turn at once to look at Sparrow, who’s so wrapped up in his tune that he doesn’t notice. He begins to play an off-key version of _Hey, Diddle, Diddle_ , adding his own tuneless singing. Daring shudders at the thought.

“I don’t know what to do,” he says, dejected. “I just… don’t know.”

The guys exchange uncomfortable glances. They’d never seen Daring so beaten up like this, not since they lost their first Bookball game to Beanstalk High, and that was forever ago. The uncomfortable silence in the room grows painfully longer by the minute.

“Girls,” Hunter pipes up, unhelpfully, “am I right?”

Daring lets out another groan.

“Okay,” Dexter sighs, “I’m calling for backup.”

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Darling Charming saunters into the room with the gait of a true knight, confident and bold. Having just completed her Dragon-Slaying class, she’s still donned in her suit of armour, and as she enters the dorm room she removes her helmet and lets her hair fall down her back, the blues in her hair getting tangled with the platinum blonde. She lays her helmet and sword aside as she makes her way to Daring.

In her armour, she towers over him by just enough to make him seem small, and Darling would be lying if she didn’t admit it made her feel good. She sits herself on the edge of his bed.

“So,” Darling begins, “you’ve Royally messed up, huh?”

“Oh, no,” Daring moans, not looking up from his pillow, “they called _you_?”

Darling glares at her twin brother. “I thought you said he was practically begging for my help.”

“Okay, it might have been _me_ that was desperate,” Dexter says sheepishly, “but look at him, Darling. He’s completely helpless. We’ve never seen him so broken up like this.”

Darling sighs. It’s true that she’d never seen her oldest brother act this way about… well, anything. She pats him affectionately on the shoulder.

“Daring,” she says, “you’re not alone in your pain.”

“Easy for you to say,” Daring retorts childishly, “now that you’re well on your path to your Happily Ever After.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. You were well on your path, too, before your little slip-up.” Darling stops herself from saying anything more that she might regret. Her destiny is still a sensitive topic for the both of them. “And I wasn’t talking about _me_. Rosabella is my roommate, you know.”

“Rosabella is in pain?” Daring sits up, concern plain as day in his eyes.

“It’s really not my place to say,” Darling says slowly, “but… she _was_ a little upset with how you reacted on Blondie’s MirrorCast.”

“That accursed MirrorCast!” Daring mutters, shaking his head. “It brought me back, you know, to that—that horrible place. Where I was trapped… alone. That’s why I reacted the way I did on the MirrorCast. It brought me back there.”

“What place?” Darling shoots a questioning glance at Dexter, who looks just as confused as she does. “Are you talking about the Mirror Realm?”

“Yes.” Daring squeezes his eyes shut, and the terrible, cold feeling threatens to wash over him again. He shudders, shaking it off his shoulders. “It was quite unpleasant.”

“Daring,” she reaches for his arm, and he jerks away in a shock. “That’s what this is about? But… you told us you were fine. Why haven’t you said anything since? You led all of us—Rosabella, especially—to believe that it hadn’t affected you at all.”

“Because I’m supposed to be… well, _daring_!” He doesn’t look either of his siblings in the eye. “I had already lost my sense of self, my identity, the thing that I believed made me, _me_. Who else would I be if I couldn’t at least fight this one myself?”

“Some battles aren’t meant for you to face alone.” Darling gives him a thoughtful look. “Trust me, I know.”

“Look, I just need Rosabella to know that my—my _hesitation_ has nothing to do with her,” Daring says. He brushes aside his brother’s smug look as he admits that he had, indeed, _hesitated_. “I do want to be with her. I need her to know that.”

“Then you have to talk to _her_.”

“I’m not good at expressing my true feelings outright.” Daring sighs. “I didn’t have to before, you know, with…”

“I know.” Darling doesn’t let him finish that thought.

“I just thought that since we’re destined to be together, I wouldn’t have to… confront my feelings. I thought that it would all just come—”

“Easy?” Darling scoffs, and Dexter snorts behind her. “Oh, Daring Charming. My oldest and, dare I say, _stupidest_ brother.” She chooses to ignore the indignant look on his face. “You’ve never had to work for a thing in your life, and now you’re all scared and daunted that you actually have to make an effort towards your destiny. Well, _boohoo_ , big brother. You want to know what I think? I think you’re acting like a big baby.”

“Well, I never!” Daring exclaims. He’s at a loss for words, but he’s certainly not about to show it. “That’s not fair!”

“I think it’s _plenty_ fair. Dex had to work for his destiny; I had to work for mine. The universe isn’t just going to hand you your Happily Ever After on a silver platter. And if you don’t want to talk, then you’re going to have to find some way to show Rosabella how you feel. But no matter how you do it, it has to come from _you_.” Darling points a finger at him sternly, and for a moment Daring notes affectionally just how much she looks like their mother. (She would unquestionably make a great queen.) “Just make the effort, Daring. That’s all that counts.”

“You… you’re right,” Daring says, finally resigned. “You’re right, Darling. Thank you.”

“Yes, well, you’re not off the hook just yet. Not until I see those happy forest animals hanging out in my dorm again.” She grins at him. “They used to be such a bother when I needed to study, but now I kind of miss how they follow Rosabella everywhere she goes.”

“By the way,” Daring says, after a brief silence. He looks at his sister earnestly. “I really _am_ glad that you’ve worked things out with Apple, you know. It’s good to see you both happy.”

“Thanks, Daring.”

“Oh, finally!” Dexter cries, pulling them both into a rough, tight embrace that takes them by surprise, almost bowling them over. “Now _this_ is what I like to see! The Charming siblings, reunited again.”

* * *

_Make the effort. Right_ , Daring thinks, _but where to start?_

He hasn’t seen Rosabella since the day of their joint Kingdom Management class, and that had been the last time they shared a class before being regrouped into their separate classes for future kings and queens. A few times within the week, though, Daring thought he’d seen a flash of her auburn hair disappearing quickly through the hallways and up the steps that lead to Ever After High’s expansive library.

He finds her there alone on the first Monday since the last time they spoke, her nose buried in another large book; this time it’s _War and Peace_. He feels a tender familiarity at the sight of Rosabella, surrounded by the dozens of books around her, not quite drowning in them but instead gleaming in their midst like an august beacon.

Her hair is redder in the sunlight, he notices, and her dark eyes are glinting excitedly behind her glasses as she takes in words she’s reading and, for a shocking second, swept up in the moment, Daring realises that he has never actually felt anything like this before, not for anyone. The sudden rush of feeling grips him with a warmth that combats the cold darkness of the Mirror Realm in the corner of his mind.

He drifts toward her, almost floating past the shelves of books. His feet subconsciously carry him to where she’s sitting.

“Rosabella,” he whispers, feeling the thick silence of the library suddenly swallow up the rest of the words he’d prepared to speak, “I…”

“ _Shh!_ ” One of the evil step-librarians gives him a cold glare, and sharply jerks her thumb to the ‘SILENCE’ sign above the door.

“Hi, Daring,” Rosabella whispers back, greeting him with a genuine smile, and he feels his whole face heat up in shame. “I’m glad to see you.”

“You are? I—I’m glad to see _you_ ,” Daring says, his voice so high and eager that he receives another warning from the other evil step-librarian. “Oh _Grimm_ , I am unbelievably glad to see you.”

Rosabella lets out a small laugh, amused at his flustered behaviour, and relief floods his chest. Daring thinks it’s the loveliest sound he’s heard in what had been the emptiest week of his life, and his feelings start to take control of his body. He reaches for her hand, and she takes his without hesitation. He leans forward, just close enough for his lips to brush softly against her crown of golden roses, when both the evil step-librarians cry out their third, “ _SHHH!_ ”

In less than a heartbeat, they spring apart; Daring collides with the bookshelf directly behind them, and _War and Peace_ slips out of her hand and falls with a thud to the floor. They glance at each other and laugh quietly.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispers, surprised at his own candour.

“Me, too.” Rosabella opens her mouth to say more, but then she gets her own warning from the evil step-librarians. She clamps a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing again.

“Rosabella, I… I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

She shakes her head. “No, Daring, _I’m_ sorry—”

“That’s quite enough! This is a quiet zone!” One of the evil step-librarians marches up to them and points a long, spiteful finger at the door. “Get out! Get out, the lot of you!”

Outside the library, the echoing noise of students shuffling to and fro is suddenly too loud. For a few minutes, they stand unmoving by the library door, letting the sounds of the hallway fill the air. Their hands are still clasped together.

“I have Princessology in five minutes,” Rosabella groans, and Daring laughs at the frustration in her voice.

“Well, look at that,” he teases, “Rosabella Beauty, the studious, reluctant to go to class.”

“Your fault,” she goads, turning to walk down the hallway. “I’ll hext you later, okay?”

“Rosabella,” Daring calls, striding toward her. She turns to face him. In the deep glow, she beams brighter than even the sun. Daring can’t contain the rushing feeling that returns to his chest. It’s almost like déjà vu—a lost memory; he thinks he’s seen this situation play out in a dream from long ago. He bends down and presses his lips against hers, a little too quickly so that when he pulls away, neither of them seems to realise what had just happened.

A blush spreads like wildfire across her face, almost as deep a red as her hair. He’s certain he looks just the same, and as reality sets in, and they can see the sun lowering just outside the castle, he feels a hundred pairs of eyes burning into his back. He doesn’t care.

“Later, Daring,” she murmurs.

* * *

“So, the forest animals are back,” Darling muses, swinging her feet onto the desk. “Guess our brother must have done something right.”

She’s hanging out in Dexter’s dorm room during her free period; with Apple leading Cheerhexing practice, she’s not going to be done until they all get the routine exactly right. _Ever the stickler for perfection, that future queen_ , Darling thinks fondly.

“Darling, _please_ ,” Dexter sighs, “I’m trying to concentrate. Hunter kept me up all night with his whining about Pesky, and now I’m rushing to finish my Crownculus thronework before—”

“ _Nerd_ ,” Darling interjects softly, sticking her tongue out at her twin brother.

All of a sudden the door to Dexter’s dorm room swings open, and Daring comes bursting in, his face still flushed. Without so much as a greeting, he calls, “I need your help!”

“Which one of us?” Dexter doesn’t look up from his Crownculus thronework. “I’m a little busy, as _neither_ one of you can see.”

“Yeah, that’s great,” Daring says, somewhat distracted. He plasters on a pleading smile as he chooses his words carefully. “Say, _bro_ , do you think I could borrow Raven for the afternoon?”

“What?” At the mention of Raven, Dexter finally abandons Crownculus altogether and swivels in his chair to face his brother. “What for?”

“I found an empty room in the castle,” Daring says, his eyes suddenly wild with excitement. “Next to the old Folkstronomy tower. I didn’t even know they taught Folkstronomy at Ever After High.”

“They used to, until they started using the tower to keep the…” Darling trails off, glancing nervously at Dexter, “… the Evil Queen confined. They moved her after the whole debacle last spring, but they didn’t bring back Folkstronomy. They probably thought Magicology covered what was needed, anyway.”

“Oh.” Daring hadn’t actually paid attention to most of what she just said, except the part where she implied that the tower is now empty. “That’s perfect. Well, we can’t waste time! Come with me, little brother. And bring your magical girlfriend. Oh, don’t look at me like that. You’ve been glued to that chair long enough.”

“Daring,” Darling calls as she sees him drag Dexter out of the room, “what are you doing?”

“Making the effort,” he replies, grinning.

* * *

As Rosabella emerges from Princessology class, her MirrorPhone buzzes. It’s a hext from Daring.

_My dearest, Rosabella,_

_Meet me after class. I’ll be waiting at the Folkstronomy tower._

Rosabella rereads the hext, feeling a deep blush spread across her face as she takes in the first line, and then curiosity as she moves to the next. The Folkstronomy tower hasn’t been occupied since they’d moved the Evil Queen last spring, everybody knows that. When she doesn’t receive a second hext from Daring, she makes her way to the abandoned tower.

The steps leading up to the tower is uncomfortably quiet at first, but as she nears the top she picks up the soothing sounds of birds chirping just beyond the brick walls. The sun has set, and the newly emerging moon casts a long shadow on the steps behind her. There are two rooms at the top of the staircase. She finds the landing empty.

“Daring?” Rosabella calls out, a small fear growing at the pit of her stomach. “Are you there?”

“Rosabella!” He peeks his head out of the room on her left. He slips out the door and smoothes his hair beneath his crown. He takes a deep breath. Rosabella notices his hands are shaking. “Before we go in, I’d like to say something.”

“Yes?” She smiles at him; a warm and inviting smile that—Daring can admit to himself—completely takes his breath away.

“I…” Daring trails off, feeling a fresh onslaught of the coldness from Mirror Realm threatening to wash over him. He shakes his head, closes his eyes briefly and takes another deep breath. When he opens his eyes, Rosabella’s smile has vanished, and her eyes are downcast. “No, Rosabella, wait—”

“Daring, what is it?”

“I’m not hesitating,” he blurts, cursing himself; this isn’t how he’d planned it at all. “What I mean to say is… I want to be with you.”

Rosabella’s smile returns, and his body relaxes. “I want to be with you, too, Daring. I’m sorry about before. I just thought—well, I thought you weren’t sure about… us.”

“I’m sure,” Daring says quickly, “in fact, just today I—I realised I don’t _ever_ want to be parted from you again. The last week was pure torture for me, Rosabella. It took me all this time to realise it because—well, I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”

She’s not sure what it is that makes her giggle—perhaps it’s the nonchalant manner that he’d said it, as though he’d said the sky is blue, or that fairies exist; like he hadn’t realised just how _long_ she’d been wanting to hear those words from him, after all they’d gone through during the summer-winter—but the laugh escapes from her anyway.

Daring frowns, feeling stung. “Are you laughing at me?”

“No!” Rosabella exclaims, but her whole body is still shaking, and her heart is gripped by a feeling of complete and utter joy. “No, I’m laughing because—because the past week was hell for me, too.”

“Then I’m glad to know we’re on the same page.” He laughs, reaching for her hand. They’re both trembling now, so he brings her hand to his chest to keep them both steady. He looks her in the eye, and they’re glinting as brightly as the stars that have come to greet them.

She nods. “That’s why I was upset before, I guess. I thought you didn’t feel the same way, and there I was on the other side…”

“We really must work on that, don’t we?” He smiles softly, pulling her closer to him. He walks her to the door, and opens it slightly before flinging it shut again. “Wait, you—you have to close your eyes first.”

“What’s in there?” Rosabella tilts her head curiously.

“Trust me,” he says, “it’s a surprise.”

Once her eyes are closed, Daring takes her hands and leads her to the middle of the room. He turns the lamp on and the room is aglow. When he’s back at her side, he leans in and whispers, “Okay, open them.”

“Daring,” she gasps, taking in the sight before her, “this is…”

The room, which stretches up as far as she can see, is covered entirely in books; from Mark Twain’s _The Prince and the Pauper_ to J.M. Barrie’s _Peter Pan,_ from Nietzsche’s _The Birth of Tragedy_ to Plato’s _Republic_. Her eyes scan the room, glimpsing books that she hasn’t seen since she was a child, and books that she doesn’t recognise at all. Her heart swells as she shuffles around the room, hands already reaching for the shelves. She runs a trembling finger across the spines.

Above her is a skylight, and she notices just how bright the stars are tonight. The floor is dappled with pale moonlight. As Rosabella turns to face Daring, she feels tears welling up in her eyes. She doesn’t realise he has been talking for at least a minute.

“… and I know it’s frustrating for you that the library closes so early in the fall, so I thought this would be a suitable alternative. No one would disturb you up here…” Daring notices she’s not speaking. “Rosabella?”

“I love it,” she breathes, softly enough that the large room almost swallows it right up, yet clear enough for the both of them to hear. “I _love_ it, Daring, I…”

She walks toward Daring with long, swinging strides and crashes right into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He catches her swiftly, and they grin at each other nervously before she kisses him, fully and without so much as a breadth of hesitation. Above them, the moonlight glows brighter, and the first rays of midnight trickle onto the floor.

When they pull away, Rosabella is amused to see just how embarrassed he looks. She thinks it’s not such a bad look on him; a nice change from his usual calm composure. Glancing around the room again, she notices that the walls are bare, save for several portraits of Folkstronomers past, all of whom are long gone.

“Daring,” she says, “there aren’t any mirrors in this room.”

“You’re right, there aren’t.”

“You sure you’ve got in the right room?” Rosabella teases. “I don’t know if you’re going to like it here if you won’t be able to look at yourself once in a while.”

“Oh, I’ll be fine,” he says. His eyes are pensive.

“Which brings me to this.” Rosabella reaches for her bag and digs around in it. “Actually, Daring, I—I have something for you, too.”

She pulls out a small handheld mirror. It’s beautifully crafted; the handle is gilded with roses, and the perfect glass surface shines under the moonlight. As Rosabella hands it to him, Daring recoils in horror, as if the mirror burned him.

“Daring!” Rosabella exclaims. “What’s wrong?”

When he doesn’t respond, she reaches for his arm. He jerks away in a shock, backing away slowly. He stumbles into the shelf behind him, and she notices that he’s gripping the shelf, almost as if he’ll lose his balance if he lets go.

“Daring, hey,” Rosabella calls softly, “are you alright?”

“I…” He closes his eyes. The dark feeling washes over him, cold and dreadful, and he thinks he’s going to be sick. “The… mirror…”

“What—” she begins, and then puts two and two together. “Oh, _Daring_.”

She reaches out to touch him; he doesn’t pull away this time. She presses her palm against his cheek, and he relaxes into her touch. “The Mirror Realm really did a number on you, huh?”

“I hadn't realised it did until quite recently.” Daring regains his composure. “You know, I couldn’t—I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror for a week after that.”

“Daring, that’s terrible.” Rosabella pulls him closer toward her. “You should’ve said something.”

“I know,” he sighs. The cold feeling is gone, and in its place is the warmth he’d felt in the library before. “I suppose I was scared. I still am.”

“I’m here,” she says, smiling up at him, “I’m here, Daring. And… there’s something I want to show you, if you’re feeling a bit better.”

She picks up the mirror and holds it up in front of him. Strangely, he doesn’t see his reflection in it. The glass is blank.

“It’s not just an ordinary mirror,” she explains, “it’s enchanted. It lets you see whatever _you_ want to see. It reveals your heart’s desire. But… we don’t have to use it right now. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

“That’s incredible,” he murmurs. He grasps her hand tightly. “Thank you, Rosabella.”

“I’ll leave it here for now, okay? We can always come back here again, and I’ll show you just what the mirror can do.” Rosabella sets it down on the shelf behind them.She smiles up at him, taking both his hands and leading him out of the room. “Daring, I'm really glad you opened up to me. Know that I'm here for you, always.”

As Daring looks at her, he feels a warmth flutter through him, fighting the last of the cold feeling left by the Mirror Realm. He casts a furtive glance at the mirror on the shelves, and then back at her. She’s still smiling at him, as brightly as she can under the moonlight. In the deep glow of the only low lamp in the room, he feels… _good_ , in a way he hasn’t felt since the Mirror Realm first got hold of him. He thinks he’ll be alright.

“So…" she wraps her fingers around his, “you wanna go see what's in the Folkstronomy tower?”


End file.
